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Falai Goes Retail; Swedish Fish Spawn

By Florence Fabricant April 15, 2011 11:48 amApril 15, 2011 11:48 am

Todd Heisler/The New York TimesSockerbit

Chester Higgins Jr./The New York TimesIacopo Falai at Bottega Falai.

Iacopo Falai is on the move again, ready to open Bottega Falai Thursday morning next to his Caffe Falai. Done in his trademark shiny white mosaic tile, and glittering chandeliers, the shop is stocked with mostly Italian products, like dried porcini, sea salts, some herbs and spices, excellent Mancini pasta, olive oils, a selection of Italian cheeses and cured meats, breads, some produce, prepared foods like sandwiches, and the pastries for which Mr. Falai is known. A few tables are available for a snack on the spot but most of the food is to take away. A couple of weeks ago, he also doubled the size of the cafe by taking over an adjacent storefront, adding more seats and a full bar, also done in white tile and sparkle. And for his new Italian cocktail menu, you can watch his bartenders weigh the ingredients for your drink on little scales for better accuracy.

Sockerbit has a vast and colorful collection of at least 139 other kinds of chewy, melty, jellied, sticky, crackly, nubbly, gooey and otherwise alluring little candies from Sweden. They are all on display, in bins, sold by the pound and set off by the whiteness of the store. It’s owned by Stefan Ernberg, from Sweden, and his wife, Florence Baras. The name, Ms. Baras said, means “sugar cube” in Swedish — she pointed out the dense, square little marshmallow, white with rounded corners, that looks like a sugar cube, as the icon. Each little bin gives a brief description of the candy it contains. Fruit and chocolate flavors dominate and licorice-lovers will be in heaven. The store also has empty papier maché Easter eggs decorated with traditional farm scenes, in two sizes, ready to fill.